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Adulterous Saudi princess granted asylum in Britain: report

A Saudi princess who fell pregnant during an affair with a British man has been granted asylum in Britain after she claimed she could face the death penalty if she went home.

A British court granted refugee status to the young woman, who is married to a member of the Saudi royal family, after she told the judge her adultery made her liable to death by stoning in Saudi Arabia, The Independent newspaper said.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office in London refused to confirm the report, saying it did not comment on individual cases.

The newspaper reported that the princess - who was granted anonymity by the court - is one of a small number of citizens of Saudi Arabia who claim asylum in Britain but whose cases are not openly acknowledged by either government.

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Recognition by the British Government would be viewed as criticism of human rights in Saudi Arabia, which would embarrass both sides, it said.

The princess reportedly met her English boyfriend, who is not a Muslim, during a visit to London. She became pregnant the following year and returned to Britain to have the baby in secret.

Since then her family has broken off contact with her, and she persuaded a court that if she returned home then both she and her child would be subject to capital punishment under sharia law, namely flogging and stoning to death.